Robert Walsh, Artistic Director Christopher Griffith, Interim Managing Director
From: Heidi J. Dallin, Media Relations Director Phone: 978-281-4099/978-283-6688 Email: hjdallin@hotmail.com
FIRST REGIONAL PRODUCTION OF RECENT BROADWAY HIT:
THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT
OPENS AT GLOUCESTER STAGE
Gloucester Stage Company continues its 40th Anniversary Season of professional theater with the regional premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact from August 30 through September 22 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA.Gloucester Stage is the first theater in the country to produce the critically-acclaimed The Lifespan of a Fact since the play’s SRO smash hit world premiere Broadway run featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Cherry Jones, and Bobby Cannavale closed in January 2019. Written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell, based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal, The Lifespan of a Fact is the ultimate showdown between truth and fiction. A determined young fact checker is about to stir up trouble. His demanding editor has given him a big new assignment: a groundbreaking piece by an unorthodox author. Together, they take on the high-stakes world of publishing in this new play about the comedy of conflict. Directed by Sam Weisman, The Lifespan of a Fact cast features GSC veterans Mickey Solis as John, the author; and Lindsay Crouse as Emily, his editor; and GSC newcomer Derek Speedy as Jim, the fact checker. The Lifespan of a Fact runs from August 30 through September 22. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA.
The Lifespan of a Fact reunites director Sam Weisman, actor Mickey Solis and Academy Award nominee and Gloucester resident actress Lindsay Crouse after their celebrated collaboration in GSC’s 2017 New England premiere of Lucy Prebble’s, The Effect. Prior to 2017 Crouse and Weisman worked together in the 1995 feature film Bye-Bye-Love which was directed by Weisman and starred Crouse.
Director Sam Weisman made his GSC directing debut with 2017’s critically acclaimed The Effect. He has directed film, television, and theatre including the feature films, George of the Jungle (which received a British Academy Award nomination for Best Children’s Movie); The Out-of-Towners (starring Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, and John Cleese); D2: The Mighty Ducks, andDickie Roberts (starring David Spade, produced by Adam Sandler). He also was Co-Producer of the feature film, DAD (starring Jack Lemmon, Olympia Dukakis, and Ted Danson). Mr. Weisman has directed or produced over 200 television episodes, for such shows as Family Ties, Moonlighting, L.A. Law, Seventh Heaven (Pilot Episode), Law and Order, Monk, In Plain Sight, and The Bernie Mac Show. His television work has received three Emmy Nominations, multiple Humanitas Awards, two Golden Globe Nominations, and a Golden Globe Award. His pilot of the critically acclaimed series, Brooklyn Bridge, was honored by TV GUIDE as one of the best television episodes of all time. Mr. Weisman’s theatre work has received much recognition, including multiple Drama-Logue and LA Weekly Awards, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Best Director honors for the West Coast premieres of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (starring Ian McShane and Penny Fuller) and Simon Gray’s The Common Pursuit(featuring Nathan Lane). Other West Coast theatre credits include James Lapine’s Table Settings, and an acclaimed production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child (starring Ralph Waite and Nan Martin) at South Coast Repertory Theatre. At The Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, he directed Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, and the world premiere of John Kolvenbach’s Gizmo Love. Recent work includes developing several feature film projects, such as The Miracle of St. Anthony, a Walden Media film based on the New York Times best-selling book of the same name. In addition, he is the Co-Creator and Executive Producer of THE SING OFF, NBC Television’s a cappella singing competition.
Lindsay Crouse is an award-winning veteran of stage and screen. In the New York theater she spent seven years with the Circle Repertory Company, winning critics’ praise for her portrayal of Ophelia in Hamlet and Viola in Twelfth Night, and garnering an Obie Award for David Mamet’s Reunion. On Broadway she won a Theater World Award for her performance as Ruth in Pinter’sThe Homecoming. For the last decade Ms. Crouse has played a wide range of characters at Gloucester Stage. She joined the cast of the riotous trilogy, The Norman Conquests, by Alan Ayckbourn, sharing with them Boston’s IRNE award for Best Ensemble, and she received an IRNE nomination for her performance as Lettice in Peter Schaffer’s madcap comedy, Lettice and Lovage. On the dramatic side she played the doctor in the searing duet, Going to St. Ives, received raves for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst, and won the IRNE Award for Best Actress for her performance as Daisy in Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy directed by Benny Sato Ambush. Most recently, she appeared on the GSC stage in the IRNE Award winning Best Production of Dancing in Lughnasa in 2018. On television she played three different characters on Law & Order, and spent a season on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the infamous Maggie Walsh. She was nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Performer in the Children’s Special, Mother and Daughter, and for a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album, “The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets. Some of Lindsay’s best known feature films include All The President’s Men, House of Games, The Verdict, The Insider, Mr. Brooks, Slapshot, Prince of the City, Daniel, and Places in the Heart, for which she received an Academy Award nomination.A longtime Gloucester resident, Ms. Crouse began spending her summers in Gloucester as a child and is now a Gloucester resident. Her parents began summering in Gloucester in the late 1940’s as an escape from New York City. Lindsay’s father playwright Russel Crouse found inspiration on Cape Ann. He often worked here with his longtime partner and collaborator Howard Lindsay. Their partnership of over 28 years is one of the longest in theater history and responsible for such hits as The Sound of Music, Anything Goes, Life With Father and the Pulitzer Prize winning The State of the Union among others.
Mickey Solis’ New York and Off Broadway credits include the American premiere of Ivan Viripaev’s Illusions at the Baryshnikov Arts Center; An Orestia with Classic Stage Company; God of Carnage at Engeman Theater; White People at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Night Over Taos at INTAR, directed by Estelle Parsons; The Master and Margarita at the Fisher Center; Beckett at 100(at the 92nd St. Y with Alvin Epstein and Bill Camp); Error of Their Ways at HERE Arts Center; and Private Moments in Central Park directed by David Levine for Creative Time. Regionally he has worked at the Yale Repertory; American Repertory Theater; Dangerous Ground (Brooklyn); Triad Stage; Appalachian Summer Festival; New College Theater; Moscow Art Theater; Epic Theater; Shakespeare on the Sound and Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
Derek Speedy is recent graduate of Harvard University where he was a four-year cast member of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. His credits include: Dogfight (Eddie Birdlace); Assassins (John Hinckley Jr.); Polaroid Stories (Orpheus); Into the Woods (The Baker) andPericles (Antiochus/Pandar). He received his training at Harvard University, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Stagedoor Manor.
Playwright Jeremy Kareken’s short plays Hot Rod, Big Train, and 80 Cards have been performed around the country and internationally. His awards include the Sewanee Conference’s Dakin Fellowship for Farblondjet, and Guthrie/Playwrights Center’s Two-Headed Challenge for The Sweet Sweet Motherhood. The Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference selected Kareken and fellowLifespan playwright David Murrell for their horror-comedy script about haunted breast implants – THESE! Conquered the Earth! In 2018, PlayPenn shortlisted Jeremy’s new political satire about an illiterate king, The Red Wool. Born and raised in Rochester, NY, and a graduate of the University of Chicago, he has taught at NYU, NYIT, The Actors Studio Drama School, and currently teaches at the Acting Studio – New York. A lifetime member of The Actors Studio, Mr. Kareken occasionally acts and is the researcher for Bravo TV’s Inside the Actors Studio.
Playwright David Murrell’s theater credits include Ductwork (Access Theater, Cleveland Public Theatre); E.T.D and [Untitled Organic Winery Project]. His screenplays include Breed Ambassador; Chomper; The Cold Spot; Girl Gets Razor; Mission: Uncomfortable; A Radio Picture; THESE! Conquered the Earth! (Hamptons Film Festival Screenwriters Conference) and Walking Kane. Mr. Murrell’s teleplays include:Dayton Ladies; Down River; and Space Station Malibu. Mr. Murrell was born and raised on Staten Island and graduated from the University of Chicago. The Lifespan of a Fact is his first Broadway play.
Playwright Gordon Farrell received an MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama in 1986. His plays include With More Than Voices produced off-off Broadway; Navigators, directed by Arthur Sherman at Primary Stages; and Alice Again, A Tin Star Over Tombstone, and The Voice of America all at Alleyway Theater. Mr. Farrell worked as a screenwriter at Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers and MGM, writing for producers as varied as Robert Simonds, Bruce Berman, and the late Norman Twain, with whom he developed several screenplays, including one based on the life and literary struggles of J.R.R. Tolkien; an adaptation of Richard Russo’s darkly comic novel, Straight Man; and their final collaboration, The Lifespan of a Fact. Teaching in NYU’s Dramatic Writing Department for over 25 years, Mr. Farrell’s students include Annie Baker, Lucas Hnath, Christopher Shinn, Jessica Goldberg, Marco Rameriz, Madeleine George, and Chisa Hutchinson, among others. His book, The Power of the Playwright’s Vision, was published by Heinemann Press in 2001 and is now a standard playwriting text in the U.S., England, and Canada.
THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES:
AUGUST 30- SEPTEMBER 22
Wednesdays – Saturdays: 7:30 pm;
Saturdays – Sundays: 2:00 pm
PLACE:
Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
SINGLE TICKET PRICES: Single Ticket prices are $15 to $48 with discounts available for Preview Performances, Senior Citizens, Military Families, and College Students and those under 18 years of age. For detailed ticket information visitwww.gloucesterstage.com
PAY WHAT YOU WISH: SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2 PM: Gloucester Stage is committed to inclusion and diversity, including socio-economic status. Pay What You Wish performances are the first Saturday Matinee (2pm) of each production, allowing access to the arts for all. No one is turned away for lack of funds and donations can be made before or after the show.
CAPE ANN NIGHTS: FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 7:30 PM; SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2 PM & 7:30 PM; WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, SEPTEMBER 11 & SEPTEMBER 18, 7:30 PM: Enriching our local community is key to our mission impact. Residents of Cape Ann can purchase $25 tickets at Preview Performances and every Wednesday of each production. Limit of 2 (two) per household. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office 978.281.4433, with a valid address.
POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: SUNDAY: SEPTEMBER 8 & SEPTEMBER 15: Following the 2 pm performances on Sunday, SEPTEMBER 8 and Sunday, SEPTEMBER 15, audiences are invited to free post-show discussions with the artists from The Lifespan of a Fact.
ABOUT THE COMPANY: Gloucester Stage is a professional non-profit theater providing a unique, intimate experience as audiences are never more than five rows from the stage. Located in a century-old repurposed brick warehouse on the waterfront of Cape Ann, the organization is led by Artistic Director Robert Walsh and Interim Managing Director Christopher Griffith. Entering the company’s 40th Season in 2019, GSC benefits from a loyal audience searching for intellectually stimulating and socially relevant stories.
For further information, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433
or visit www.gloucesterstage.com
THE DOGTOWN WRITERS FESTIVAL: FINDING WORDS IN PLACE Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, 2019. The Dogtown Writers Festival is an event that the Gloucester Writers Center has designed to provide multiple creative opportunities for writing in unique venues, ensuring that all voices are heard. Join us and other fellow writers in exploring and celebrating PLACE, with Cape Ann as a microcosm of the global macrocosm. The festival will be looking at what shapes our progressive future without losing “grounding” in our cultural roots and the history we grow out of. We will develop our personal connection with the “geography of our being”—the place in which we live, work, and create, whether that place is Cape Ann or beyond. It is what poet Vincent Ferrini referred to as the “Holy Local,” a lens through which to look at the world. Our workshops, keynote speakers, and panel discussions will explore, through dialogue and writing, the themes of: “Words in Place,” “Words Over Time,” and “Words in People—Voices of Cape Ann.” “What cannot be taken away-/the/Temple/outside/me/ in me/ I am inside /of life is the poem.” ~ Vincent Ferrini “Exploration of the HOLY LOCAL, the inner and outer worlds that we are all heir to.” ~Henry Ferrini **THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE FOR THE FESTIVAL IS LISTED BELOW THE WORKSHOPS. WORKSHOP OFFERINGS:
Democracy. History. Community. Environment. Throughout his life in Gloucester, historian and writer Joseph E. Garland advocated for a fully engaged citizenry to preserve the city’s integrity, authenticity, and transparency as a democratically participatory community. Joe recognized that the very fabric of Gloucester’s cultural identity was at risk of dissolution in the face of larger industrial shifts fundamentally changing its socioeconomic landscape. His impassioned writing served as a community conscience, prodding citizen involvement in preserving Gloucester’s history and heritage. The Garland Legacy Project arose from the vision of Helen Garland and family members to ensure that Joe’s central values would continue to inspire and guide key endeavors which were dear to him. The Garland Legacy Project honors Gloucester’s history, culture, and natural environment by providing support to innovative Gloucester programs that advance citizen self-governance, historic awareness of place and purpose, leadership in ocean and all environmental stewardship, preservation of the “commonwealth,” the importance of the written word, the literary arts, and the pursuit of peace. The Garland Legacy Project strives to ensure that these defining values embraced by Joe and Helen Garland remain vibrant and relevant, serving to promote a just, compassionate society, a transparent accountable government, and a sustained healthy planet. ************************************************************************************************* The Gloucester Writers Center and the Dogtown Writers Festival committee thanks the Mass Cultural Council for their generous grant and the following organizations and friends for their donation of locations for our workshops and discussion panels. We appreciate their generosity and spirit of community!
Good Morning Gloucester 